Secularism

Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened to a similar position seeking to remove or to minimize the role of religion in any public sphere.^[1] Secularism may encapsulate anti-clericalism, atheism, naturalism, non-sectarianism, neutrality on topics of religion, or antireligion.^[2] Secularism is not necessarily antithetical to religion, but may be compatible with it.^[3] As a philosophy, secularism seeks to interpret life based on principles derived solely from the material world, without recourse to religion. It shifts the focus from religion towards "temporal" and material concerns.^[4]

There are distinct traditions of secularism like the French, Turkish, American and Indian models. These differ greatly, from the American emphasis on avoiding an established religion and freedom of belief, to the French interventionist model, and more. The purposes and arguments in support of secularism vary widely, ranging from assertions that it is a crucial element of modernization, or that religion and traditional values are backward and divisive, to the claim that it is the only guarantor of free religious exercise.

Both "religion" and "secular" are Western concepts that are not universal across cultures, languages, or time; with experiences of secularism varying significantly.^[5] Secularism has origins going back to the ancient world into religious texts such as the Bible, being refined through history by religious thinkers.^[6] Secular individuals hold complex relations to religion.^[7]^[8]

^ Luke W. Galen. The Nonreligious: Understanding Secular People and Societies. Oxford University Press, 2016. p. 22-23
^ Hashemi, Nader (2009). "Secularism". In Esposito, John L. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195305135.
^ Eller, Jack (2010). "What is Atheism?". In Zuckerman, Phil (ed.). Atheism and Secularity. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger. pp. 12–13. ISBN 9780313351839. The point is that the sacred/secular dichotomy is, like most dichotomies, false. "Secular" certainly does not mean "atheistic" or without religion, definitely not anti-religion; in fact, as I illustrate in a chapter in the second volume of this collection, there is a proud tradition of "Islamic secularism."..The upshot of this analysis is that secularism most assuredly does not translate simply and directly into atheism. Many good theists support the secularization of the American government in the form of the "separation of church and state," and all of them go about at least part of their day without doing religion.
^ Roznai, Yaniv (June 7, 2017). "Negotiating the Eternal: The Paradox of Entrenching Secularism in Constitutions". Michigan State Law Review. 253. Social Science Research Network: 324. SSRN 2982275. Archived from the original on August 22, 2022. Retrieved August 22, 2022., citing Domenic Marbaniang
^ Eller, David (2017). "Varieties of Secular Experience". The Oxford Handbook of Secularism. Oxford University Press: 500–501, 512. It is commonplace today to note that the term "secular" is of Western origin—and not originally antagonistic to religion ("secular priests" were hardly averse to religion). Frankly, "secular" is not inherently related to religion at all: denoting "of the current age" or "of the present generation," it could apply to any subject...Some societies, as anthropology has discovered, do not even have a term or concept for "religion" and therefore obviously do not have a concept akin to our "secular." For the purposes of the present chapter, they do not have "secular experience" at all, since "the secular"—like religion—is nowhere and everywhere...What investigators can and should do is discover how particular groups, institutions, and societies talk about and practice secularism—if in fact they do at all—rather than to impose a speciously unified concept, derived from one society's experience, on all places and times.
^ Cite error: The named reference berl was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Fuller, Robert C. (2017). "Secular Spirituality". The Oxford Handbook of Secularism. Oxford University Press: 571–586.
^ Blankholm, Joseph (2022). The Secular Paradox : On the Religiosity of the Not Religious. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 9781479809509.

[1] Luke W. Galen. The Nonreligious: Understanding Secular People and Societies. Oxford University Press, 2016. p. 22-23

[hashemi-intro-2] Hashemi, Nader (2009). "Secularism". In Esposito, John L. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195305135.

[Eller-3] Eller, Jack (2010). "What is Atheism?". In Zuckerman, Phil (ed.). Atheism and Secularity. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger. pp. 12–13. ISBN 9780313351839. The point is that the sacred/secular dichotomy is, like most dichotomies, false. "Secular" certainly does not mean "atheistic" or without religion, definitely not anti-religion; in fact, as I illustrate in a chapter in the second volume of this collection, there is a proud tradition of "Islamic secularism."..The upshot of this analysis is that secularism most assuredly does not translate simply and directly into atheism. Many good theists support the secularization of the American government in the form of the "separation of church and state," and all of them go about at least part of their day without doing religion.

[4] Roznai, Yaniv (June 7, 2017). "Negotiating the Eternal: The Paradox of Entrenching Secularism in Constitutions". Michigan State Law Review. 253. Social Science Research Network: 324. SSRN 2982275. Archived from the original on August 22, 2022. Retrieved August 22, 2022., citing Domenic Marbaniang

[el-5] Eller, David (2017). "Varieties of Secular Experience". The Oxford Handbook of Secularism. Oxford University Press: 500–501, 512. It is commonplace today to note that the term "secular" is of Western origin—and not originally antagonistic to religion ("secular priests" were hardly averse to religion). Frankly, "secular" is not inherently related to religion at all: denoting "of the current age" or "of the present generation," it could apply to any subject...Some societies, as anthropology has discovered, do not even have a term or concept for "religion" and therefore obviously do not have a concept akin to our "secular." For the purposes of the present chapter, they do not have "secular experience" at all, since "the secular"—like religion—is nowhere and everywhere...What investigators can and should do is discover how particular groups, institutions, and societies talk about and practice secularism—if in fact they do at all—rather than to impose a speciously unified concept, derived from one society's experience, on all places and times.

[berl-6] Cite error: The named reference berl was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[7] Fuller, Robert C. (2017). "Secular Spirituality". The Oxford Handbook of Secularism. Oxford University Press: 571–586.

[8] Blankholm, Joseph (2022). The Secular Paradox : On the Religiosity of the Not Religious. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 9781479809509.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]